Chapter 41: The Elf’s Intervention

“Sina, fall back, now!”

The urgent command echoed from behind her, coinciding with a sudden, intense rise in temperature at her back. Simultaneously, a blinding flash of light erupted, momentarily illuminating the cavern’s depths.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sina swiftly dodged backward, just in time to witness a massive fireball hurtle towards the black bear.

With a deafening roar, ferocious flames engulfed a substantial portion of the cave’s interior. Seizing this opportune moment, both women swiftly retreated from the cavern.

The oppressive darkness within the cave was a distinct disadvantage. By withdrawing, they not only escaped the dim confines but also managed to establish a crucial distance from the colossal bear.

Bears possessed notoriously poor long-distance vision. If they could maintain their separation and utilize their agile movement techniques, they might just find an opening to fell this formidable beast, enhanced by its dual magic affinity.

A guttural roar ripped through the air once more. The inferno, far from impeding the brown bear’s advance, seemed only to fuel its rage, making it appear even more furious.

With a thunderous crash, clouds of dust billowed upward as the very ground began to fracture. Streams of fire snaked along these fissures, spreading rapidly in every direction.

“Gale!” Sina exclaimed, her hand condensing magic. Immediately, powerful gusts of wind erupted from behind her, lashing out at the encroaching flames.

Violently whipped by the turbulent winds, the flames were astonishingly forced to reverse course, surging back towards the brown bear.

Whoosh!

The flames licked across the brown bear’s massive form, scorching away the layers of mud that encased it. The beast’s armor, fashioned entirely from earth, began to crack and fissure under the intense heat.

Following these new fissures, the fire spread across the entirety of the brown bear’s earthen armor, resembling molten lava seeping through cracks in a fractured landscape.

However, an attack of this magnitude was still insufficient to pose any real threat to the formidable third-tier brown bear before them.

“Sina, let me try,” Lilia offered, stepping forward. Already, a storm of lightning began to coalesce in her outstretched hand. With an affinity for six distinct magical elements, she was but a single wood magic affinity shy of possessing a complete, universal connection to all magical energies.

Such a talent was truly terrifying, a unique gift possessed by no one else throughout the entire Klett Kingdom.

The echoing roar of the gathering thunder made the brown bear instinctively crane its neck upward, peering at the sky.

Only after clearly perceiving the ominous sky did the brown bear finally register the threat. It let out an enraged bellow at Lilia, preparing to charge.

Naturally, Sina would not allow its charge to succeed. Her footwork shifted, manifesting a dazzling array of colored butterflies that seemed to flutter and dance around her form.

In the blink of an eye, she positioned herself before Lilia, raising her longsword and thrusting it forward.

The more potent a spell, the longer its casting time, and thunder magic was renowned as one of the most destructive categories.

Sina was confident that the force of Lilia’s impending strike, even if it didn’t outright kill the brown bear, would certainly leave it severely crippled.

Boom!

The thunder intensified, growing ever louder, while the brown bear’s assault grew increasingly ferocious. In a pure contest of strength against this behemoth, Sina was utterly outmatched.

After several clashes between her longsword and the bear’s massive paw, her disadvantage became painfully clear. She felt her strength rapidly draining, her body on the verge of exhaustion.

“Sina! Get out of the way!”

At that precise moment, Lilia’s spell reached its culmination. Sina, transforming into a flurry of ephemeral butterflies, instantly shimmered out of the bear’s path.

The next instant, a colossal *boom* reverberated.

A torrent of purple lightning, imbued with overwhelming power, descended like a roaring violet dragon, striking the brown bear directly.

Sizzle, crackle!

A cacophony of electrical discharge filled the air. The brown bear’s earthen armor, though formidable, was blasted open by the lightning, leaving a gaping hole.

Yet, no blood flowed forth. Evidently, the strike hadn’t reached any of the brown bear’s vital organs; it had merely shattered its formidable defenses.

Sweat beaded on Lilia’s brow. She had momentarily forgotten that mud was a poor conductor of electricity. Compounding the issue, her most proficient fire magic had proven largely ineffective against the creature.

The earlier exchange had already made it clear: this particular brown bear possessed a significant degree of immunity to fire.

ROAR!

Another furious bellow erupted. Though Lilia’s strike hadn’t inflicted a mortal wound, it had undeniably instilled a sense of caution in the beast.

Daring not to directly confront Lilia again, its gaze shifted, locking onto Sina. The bear’s posture and expression seemed to convey a clear message: ‘I might not be able to handle *her*, but surely I can deal with *you*?’

The brown bear lunged swiftly towards Sina. Having just seized a brief moment to catch her breath, Sina felt her aura surge anew as the beast once again fixed its predatory gaze upon her.

Lilia, no longer content to cast spells from a distance, plunged into the fray the moment the brown bear renewed its assault on Sina.

Even against two opponents, the brown bear subtly maintained the upper hand, making the fight an arduous struggle for both women.

If the battle continued in this manner, they were almost certain to be worn down and ultimately perish at the hands of the tenacious brown bear.

Sina was already steeling herself to forcibly break through her current cultivation realm. While such a desperate measure would undoubtedly complicate her future path, at this moment, no other option remained viable.

As she thought this, she began to silently recite the incantations of the Hundred Victories Art within her mind.

This particular cultivation method was the prize she had selected after her victory in the competition. Its defining characteristic was its ability to make the practitioner grow stronger with each engagement, ensuring unwavering focus during combat, unperturbed by external distractions.

In essence, the closer she came to defeat, the more potent her abilities became.

Just as Sina was on the verge of her breakthrough, an arrow suddenly streaked from the distance, striking the brown bear squarely in the eye.

The beast let out a pained, guttural shriek, its massive body convulsing instinctively.

Seizing this critical opportunity, Lilia brought her sword down in a powerful slash.

With a wet *thwack*, blood spattered as a long, gashing wound appeared on the brown bear’s neck.

Yet, it did not fall. The regenerative capabilities of a third-tier magical beast far surpassed those of ordinary wild animals, verging on the grotesque.

Even after sustaining such a grievous injury, the brown bear’s body was visibly, if slowly, mending itself. The process wasn’t rapid, but it was undeniably apparent to the naked eye.

Whoosh!

Another arrow whistled through the air, embedding itself directly into the wound Lilia had just inflicted.

Immediately, countless slender branches unfurled from the shaft of the arrow, burrowing deep and rooting themselves within the brown bear’s flesh.

ROAR!

The excruciating pain tore a raw cry from the beast’s throat. As its wound continued to slowly knit itself closed, the invasive roots simultaneously plunged deeper into its flesh, relentlessly siphoning away its vital nutrients.

From the fletching of the arrow, new sprouts had already emerged, giving it the appearance of a freshly sprouted sapling.

Witnessing such an extraordinary feat, Lilia instinctively spun around, her gaze falling upon a graceful figure slowly emerging from the depths of the forest.

As if sensing Lilia’s gaze, the young woman turned her head, her eyes meeting Lilia’s. She possessed a face of such pristine purity that it could captivate any man, framed by a cascade of pale golden hair that drifted gracefully in the breeze.

Her emerald green eyes, moist and glistening, sparkled like exquisite jewels.

On either side of her head, pointed ears, illuminated by the sunlight, revealed a delicate network of tiny blood vessels within. Her skin was so fair and translucent it seemed as though a gentle pinch would draw forth water.

Adorned in nothing more than simple green fabric, her exquisite beauty made the minimalist attire appear remarkably pleasing to the eye. There was no doubt; the individual before them was an elf.

“May I ask who you are?” Lilia began, perplexed.

“Hm? Focus on the enemy,” the young woman replied, a playful twinkle in her eye. Without another word, she raised her bow and notched another arrow, firing it once more towards the colossal bear.

This time, however, the elven girl’s shot failed to find its mark. The very spot where Lilia had inflicted the earlier wound was now protected by a thick, hardened layer of earth.

The young woman’s brow furrowed slightly, and a subtle gleam flickered within her emerald eyes. Then, the embedded arrow began to grow with astonishing vigor, its roots aggressively plunging deep into the solidified mud.

This was a specialized form of wood magic, a feat achievable only by the druids of the elven race.

Conventional wood magic simply lacked the power to reanimate dead timber to such an extent.